1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to multi-directional, reciprocating electrical currents. The invention also relates to an apparatus and method for generating the multi-directional currents, and to applications of the generating apparatus and method.
The multi-directional currents of the invention are generated in a current carrying medium by cyclically reversing the direction of a conventional current applied to at least one of a plurality of electrodes, so that an electromotive force (EMF) pulse travels from one side of the at least one electrode to the other, changing the direction of current flowing through the medium between two or more electrodes.
The multi-directional electric currents have the effect of accelerating processes that rely on interaction between a current and the medium that carries the current, and of eliminating asymmetries that can lead to scaling or premature wear in batteries and other electrolytic systems. The medium that carries the multi-dimensional currents may be an electrolyte, gas, gel, semiconductor, or any other medium capable of carrying current between two electrodes, and having at least two dimensions so as to enable variation in the current direction.
By way of example and not limitation, the multi-directional electrical currents of the invention may be used to (i) increase the efficiency of hydrogen generation by electrolysis of water (while at the same time preventing scaling and purifying the water), (ii) extend the life of batteries such as nickel-metal hydride cells, and of capacitors, by symmetrically charging and discharging the batteries or capacitors, (iii) provide a power source for electromagnetic projectile weapons and similar devices, and (iv) increase the efficiency of plasma generation or light conversion in cold cathode systems.
Other potential applications of the multi-directional electric currents of the invention, and of the apparatus and method for generating the currents, include computers, communications, drug and chemical development, medical treatment of cancers, anti-gravity experiments, transportation, energy, water treatment, genetic research in humans, plants, and animals, and aeronautical propulsion systems, as well as fuel cell and PEM electrolysis systems utilizing proton exchange membranes and catalyst materials.
2. Description of Related Art
A. Basic Principle of Invention
The basic principle underlying the multi-directional currents of the invention may be understood from FIGS. 1A–1B. FIG. 1A shows the situation when electrode currents iE1 and iE2 in electrodes E1 and E2 are initially reversed, creating EMF or voltage pulses, edges, waves, or spikes that travel from left to right in the top electrode E1 and from right to left in the bottom electrode E2. The current iS between the electrodes flows from the top electrode E1 to E2, but changes direction as the current iS follows the respective EMF pulses or voltage spikes as they propagate from left to right through electrode E1 and from right to left through electrode E2. Eventually, as shown in FIG. 1B, the current flows from top right to bottom left, at which point the currents in the respective electrodes are again reversed to cause EMF or voltage pulses, waves, edges, or spikes to propagate in the opposite direction. As a result, the current iS can be caused to reciprocate or continuously change direction in an oscillating or cyclical manner within the current-carrying medium between the electrodes. If iE1 and iE2 are DC currents, the electrodes can be kept at a constant potential so that the net current direction remains constant even though the instantaneous current direction changes continuously or periodically, enabling the direction-changing current iS to be used in electrolytic processes that require direct current. Alternatively, iE1, and iE2 may be alternating currents, pulsed DC currents, or polarity-reversing DC currents. In addition, a similar but smaller variation in the direction of current will occur if the direction-reversing conventional current is applied to just one of the electrodes and the second electrode has a relatively small area.
The invention may thus be characterized as a method and apparatus of generating multi-directional currents in a medium by reversing the direction of electron flow in at least one of a pair of electrodes. If the voltages applied to the electrodes are DC voltages, then the multi-directional currents have characteristics of DC currents, and if the voltages applied to the electrodes are two or three phase AC voltages, then the multi-directional currents have characteristics of AC currents. However, unlike conventional DC and AC currents, the currents generated by the method and apparatus of the invention move or rotate. If the electrodes are one-dimensional wires, then the currents rotate in two-directions. If the electrodes themselves move, or extend over two or three-dimensions, for example a plane or a curved plane, then the currents will move in three-dimensions.
B. Conventional Electric Currents
There are two types of conventional electrical currents and corresponding voltages, neither of which changes direction in the manner of the present invention. The first, direct current (DC), was already well known when Benjamin Franklin performed his famous kite experiment in 1752 to prove that lighting was a form of electricity, while the second, alternating current, came into widespread use after Nikola Tesla invented the first alternating current motor in 1888 (U.S. Pat. No. 555,190).
Both direct and alternating voltages can be applied to electrodes for the purpose of causing a current to flow through a medium between the electrodes. However, the voltages are conventionally applied across the electrodes so that the resulting inter-electrode current follows a fixed, albeit reversible, path between the electrodes, irrespective of the type of medium or geometry of the electrodes. This is clearly the case in systems having only a single terminal for each electrode, and in systems having multiple terminals but no switching circuit.
It is of course possible to periodically reverse the polarity of currents applied to the electrodes in such a system, and a number of systems have been proposed for doing so, including the systems disclosed in the patents discussed below. However, none of the previously proposed systems involves changing the direction of current in a single one, or both, of the electrodes so as to vary the direction of current flowing between the electrodes by other than 180°.
The invention in its broadest form consists of the above-described multi-directional currents, and apparatus and methods for generating the currents. However, an important aspect of the invention is the numerous applications in which the unique properties of the multi-directional currents may be exploited. These applications include, but are not limited to, the following:
C. Hydrogen Generation by Electrolysis of Water
One of the applications of the invention is electrolysis of water to generate hydrogen, or hydrogen and oxygen, for use in fuel cells and other essentially pollution-free hydrogen-driven power sources. This application is of particular importance because it offers a solution to the problem of generating, storing, and transporting the hydrogen.
Hydrogen fuel cells, in particular, have the potential to provide a completely non-polluting power source of electricity, not only for vehicles but also for electricity generation in general, but have been limited by lack of a safe distribution system for the hydrogen, and by the costs of generating the hydrogen in the first place. While it has long been known that hydrogen may be generated by applying a direct current to water, the rate of hydrogen generation is too low to provide a practical hydrogen source for mass distribution. As a result, hydrogen for mass consumption is currently produced from fossil fuels at relatively high energy costs relative to the energy value of the hydrogen produced. However, if sufficient hydrogen could be produced by water electrolysis to provide an on-board hydrogen generator for a vehicle or electric power plant, so as to generate just enough hydrogen to supply the fuel cells, then the need for a distribution system and hydrogen storage would be eliminated.
Power or propulsion systems that use water electrolysis in combination with hydrogen fuel cells to generate the hydrogen necessary to power the fuel cells are known as regenerative electrochemical cell or systems, an example of which is disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2002/0051898. Despite their theoretical promise, however, similar systems have yet to offer a practical alternative to fossil fuels. It is believed that a regenerative system can only attain widespread acceptance if the efficiency of hydrogen production is increased. The multi-directional currents of the invention offer the potential for providing such an increase in water electrolysis efficiency.
The way that the invention increases water electrolysis efficiency is by using the applied electric current to not only pull the water molecules apart at the cathode, as in a conventional electrolysis system, but to add a shearing force that helps break apart the ionic bonds between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms. The effect is similar to separating a pair of magnets by sliding them perpendicularly rather than pulling them apart. In conventional electrolysis, the water molecules tend to align with the positive and negative electrodes in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2, so that the ionic bonds are at a constant angle of 54.74° relative to the direction of current flow. This is not the optimal angle for breaking the ionic bonds and disassociating the hydrogen atoms from the oxygen atoms. In the set-up illustrated in FIG. 3, on the other hand, the molecules are subject to a continuously changing current direction, which applies both tensile and shearing forces to the molecules, substantially increasing the rate of disassociation. In addition, the electrodes can be arranged in coils to add magnetic forces that further expedite disassociation.
It will be noted that the set-up illustrated in FIG. 2 does not reverse the polarities of the electrodes, which would only slow the electrolysis process due to energy lost in flipping the water molecules. The multi-directional currents are not alternating currents, but rather in this embodiment are direct currents. Systems that reverse the polarities of electrodes have previously been used in electrolysis, but the currents are uni-directional and the reversals are carried out at relatively long intervals so that the effect is that of a conventional DC current. The purpose of the reversals is to reduce scaling by switching between anodic and cathodic reactions at the respective electrodes. This can also be accomplished with the present invention, by reversing the polarities of the electrodes in addition to reversing current directions in the individual electrodes. Examples of electrolysis apparatus (though not necessarily a hydrogen generating water electrolysis apparatus) that reverse DC potential between two electrodes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,258,250, 6,174,419, and 1,402,986, and in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2002/0074237.
Periodic reversal of the polarities of electrodes has also been used in electrolytic water purification systems. The periodically reversed currents can be used to directly destroy bacteria as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,710, or to expedite the release of electrolytic reaction by-products such as metal ions, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,241,861; 5,062,940; 4,908,109 (entitled “Electrolytic Purification System Utilizing Rapid Reverse Current Plating Electrodes”); U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,734,176; 4,525,253; and 3,654,119.
These systems are not to be confused with the system of the invention, which changes the direction of currents but does not necessarily change their polarity. However, the effects of the direction-reversing currents, and/or released ions, on bacteria and other micro-organisms can be utilized and even increased by the present invention, i.e., the currents of the present invention can be used not only for electrolysis of water to generate hydrogen, but also to purify the water. Unlike the currents disclosed in the water purification references, which cannot be used for hydrogen generation, the present invention combines generation of hydrogen with water purification so that, for example, a power plant that included hydrogen generation cells supplied with river water would also have the effect of cleaning the river water, serving as a source not only of electricity but also of potable water.
D. Charging of Nickel-Metal Hydride Foam Batteries
Although especially useful for water electrolysis, the present invention is not limited to a particular electrolyte, electrolytic process, or electrolytic cell configuration. In another application of the invention, the multi direction currents of the invention are applied to the electrodes of a battery containing an electrolyte. This application of the invention takes advantage of the reversing currents in the electrodes to reduce the wear and tear of friction and heat caused in conventional batteries by current moving from one post down the length of the electrode.
In the case of batteries containing nickel metal hydride, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,670, additional advantages of using the method and apparatus of the invention to charge the battery an increase in the hydrogen generated during the charging process, which may be captured by utilizing the principles of the gas capture system described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/314,987 filed on Dec. 10, 2002 by the present inventor now U.S. Pat. No. 6,890,410. Furthermore, the use of multi-directional currents may improve the ability of the foam to absorb hydrogen through the hydride substrate in a manner analogous to shaking of a screen to expedite passage of granular materials.
E. Capacitors
The apparatus and method of the invention can also be applied to capacitors and capacitive systems, which have similar fundamental problems of fast charging heat losses and discharge heat wear.
An example of capacitive systems to which the principles of the invention may be applied are the thrust generating systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,317,310, 3,022,430, and 2,949,550, which use the electrostatic force between asymmetric capacitor plates to generate a thrust force. The EMF voltage spikes utilized by the present invention amplify the high voltage as the current changes direction to improve thrust performance. In addition, the magnetic field switching multi-directional high voltage currents may be computer controlled on the surface of the capacitor module's thrust plates or thrust tubes to change the direction and speed of the module, and the polarity of the currents may be controlled to change the direction of thrust. Thrust, pitch, roll, and yaw can be controlled by multiple such capacitor modules.
F. Cold Cathode Light and Plasma Generators
The principles of the invention are not limited to electrolyte materials, but may be applied to any medium capable of carrying charges between a pair of electrodes, including not only electrolytes, but also gases, gels, and semi-conductors. For example, when applied to a cold cathode light, reversing the current direction in the electrodes to change the direction of the excitation current between the electrodes will cause the ionized gas to produce more electrons, and thereby produce a brighter glow.
Similarly, in systems that generate plasma by passing a gas between electrodes, the multi-direction currents of the invention will increase the rate of plasma production relative to direct current systems, and those that use a single electrode polarity reversing switch applied to a single terminal on each of the electrodes of the plasma generator, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,321.
G. Electro-Magnetic Devices
According to Lenz's law, a changing electrical current generates a magnetic flux having a magnitude that is proportional to the rate of change of the current. In the present invention, which utilizes reversing direct currents in the electrodes, the energy resulting from the above-described EMF or voltage pulses, edges, waves, or spikes can also be utilized to generate a corresponding magnetic field, which in turn can be used to drive a projectile in an electromagnetic gun, or a piston.
In addition, such systems can be made regenerative by capturing hydrogen generated during charging and using the hydrogen to power a fuel cell, which in turn charges a battery for accumulating energy to be supplied to the electrode coils when the weapon is fired or the piston is to be operated.
H. Computing Devices
By adding two inputs and outputs to the conventional electrolytic cell, the apparatus of the invention may also be used in logic circuits and computing devices. U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,083 discloses an electrolytic memory utilizing three electrodes, but each electrode only has a single input, and thus the resulting storage cell has no advantage over conventional silicon memory devices.
I. Medical Devices
The multi-directional currents of the invention may also be applied to a variety of medical devices, including x-ray machines and various devices for treating tissues by electrical currents and/or magnetic fields.